


Sight

by writer12306



Category: D. Gray-man
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Some violence and death mentioned, injuries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-31
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-12 05:46:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4467650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writer12306/pseuds/writer12306
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Miranda hardly expected to even make friends upon becoming an exorcist for the Black Order, but, literally running into Noise Marie would prove different. Just a long story about how their relationship might blossom over time. Originally posted on FFN, under the username author12306.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer, I don't own D. Gray-man.

Chapter 1

Miranda had gotten back from a long mission. Almost everyone in the Order was asleep except for her, a few finders, and one or two Exorcists scattered about the building. Of course Jerry was awake when she got to the cafeteria so she got a small dinner. It was around two in the morning and Miranda's eyes were sleepily slipping shut again and again as she struggled to stay awake long enough to finish her meal. She found herself barely managing to keep her head up before she stood up. She was able to stay awake for long periods of time, but she had kept Time Record activated for four days straight and hadn't been able to sleep on the train back, so she could hardly see straight. As a result of this she bumped into someone in the hallway. She mumbled an apology, but couldn't help falling asleep on the floor, in the middle of the hallway.

The one Miranda had bumped into was none other than Noise Marie, "Miranda?" He had recognized her voice from her mumbled apology. He only began to worry when he didn't get an answer from the normally panicked woman. As far as he could tell her pulse sounded normal, but he wanted to be certain she didn't have any injuries from her mission. He picked her up. He had reached the Order's infirmary.

"Oh, is she okay?" one of the many nurses that worked for the Head Nurse asked. Concern laced the girl's voice as she came over and felt Miranda's neck for a pulse.

"She passed out in the hallway, I think she might just be tired, though," Marie answered.

The nurse helped him lay Miranda on a bed, "I'll make sure to tell you how she's doing tomorrow."

"Thank you," Marie nodded and left back to his room. He had been going to his room before Miranda had run into him.  
=

Miranda yawned as she woke up. She hardly remembered going back to her room the night before.

I must have been really tired last night, Miranda thought as she rolled onto her side and pulled the blanket higher up her shoulder. She had the habit of trying to catch an extra hour or two more of sleep after the first time she woke up in the morning. She had to admit, it was odd. The blanket was a lot stiffer than her own blankets in her room. She yawned again and opened her eyes. It didn't take her more than a few moments to realize she wasn't in her own room, but in the infirmary.

"Oh good, you're awake. You can go to your room now if you want," one of the nurses who served under the Head Nurse greeted cheerfully.

"O-okay. How exactly did I get here?" Miranda asked. She was more than a little confused and concerned.

The nurse smiled, "You were just exhausted, and you passed out in the hallway. Noise Marie was kind enough to bring you here just so we could be sure you were alright."

"I'm so sorry for any trouble I may have caused. Thank you for taking care of me," Miranda suddenly wondered if she had been taking up a bed they had needed, but upon looking around she saw no one else was in the large room. All of the other beds were empty.

"You were no trouble at all, dear. Just try not to let yourself get that exhausted again, otherwise you might just fall asleep on the floor in the hallway somewhere," the nurse smiled in a friendly manner and waved as Miranda left.

First, Miranda decided, she would go get some breakfast. Then she would go to her room and change, maybe brush her hair. After that she would find Marie and thank him for taking her to the infirmary the night before. Miraculously her breakfast went by with no broken plates or spilled drinks. For once her hair was easy to brush. She managed to find Marie's room with only having to ask five people for directions.

She knocked lightly on the door and waited. There was no answer. She tried knocking again, slightly louder this time. She still got no answer. He's probably out somewhere. I'm sure I'll run into him soon. I can thank him then.

She turned and walked off down the hallway as she thought this. She had been watching her own feet as she walked to avoid tripping, and didn't notice the person walking ahead of her. Now normally, most people would have moved to let her pass, but this particular person couldn't see exactly where in the hallway she was and only knew she was there. Needless to say, Marie was much less startled than Miranda when she accidentally ran into him while she was walking.

Miranda stumbled back two steps, "I'm so sorry. Oh, I should have been watching where I was going!"

"It's fine," Marie assured her.

"Are you sure? You're not hurt?" Miranda asked.

"I'm fine, Miranda. I should have paid more attention to where your footsteps were coming from," Marie assured her again with a slight smile, "I should be asking if you're okay."

"No, it wasn't your fault. I'm alright," Miranda smiled. She knew he couldn't see she was smiling but she hoped he could hear it in her voice, "Oh, I wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" Marie asked. He couldn't think of a reason she would have to thank him.

"For taking me to the infirmary after I fell asleep in the hallway. Sorry if I worried you, with that. I was just really tired and once I'd fallen down and was laying on the floor I couldn't keep myself awake any longer," Miranda laughed lightly, "It means a lot to know someone worried enough about me to take me to the infirmary instead of just leaving me to sleep on the floor."

"I'm glad you're okay," Marie was indescribably relieved to know that she was okay.

Miranda blushed, "Thank you."

Marie could hear Miranda's pulse quicken just a little bit. He had grown to associate that small increase in someone's pulse with embarrassment or being flustered. It usually meant that the person he was talking to was blushing, "You're welcome. I was just about to go to the town to buy a few things. Would you like to come?"

"Yes, that would be lovely," Miranda smiled, "I need to buy a few things, too, let me go get my wallet really quick."

"I'll wait here, then," Marie assured. He half expected her to get lost either on the way to her room or back, but he didn't want to make her feel like she was totally helpless by going with her.

Miranda was determined not to get lost and make Marie wait too long for her, and her determination paid off when she made it back to where Marie was waiting after only five minutes.

With that, the two set out to the small town below the Order's tower.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own D. Gray-man

Chapter 2

Miranda was rather surprised that it was only noon when they had reached the bustling town, she had thought it was much later in the afternoon when they had left. But there they stood, just after noon, in the town.

"Where do you need to go?" Miranda asked Marie. She herself needed to get some soap, and a small local store sold a type of soap she preferred, but she didn't want to be a bother, since she was invited to come. She planned to go buy what she needed after Marie went wherever he had initially planned to go.

"The music store," Marie answered, and added a moment later, as if as an afterthought, "There's an old piano at the Order, I need to see if they could repair it."

"Oh, I didn't even realize there were any type of instruments at the Order," Miranda blinked.

Marie chuckled, "I didn't either until I offered to help the Science Department clean out an old storage room. There was a piano, and an old violin."

"That's really interesting," Miranda smiled. She had never really been able to play any musical instrument she had attempted to learn to play. She always ended up breaking the instrument, or just doing everything wrong no matter how many times someone corrected her. Music just wasn't her talent, sadly.

"There was also an old bird cage. I think I remember when one or two of the old Exorcists kept birds. Teidoll always loved to keep birds," Marie reminisced.

"I didn't know Exorcists were allowed to keep pets. What happened to the birds if their owner..." Miranda didn't want to finish her sentence, but Marie didn't need her to finish.

"Then they're usually given to another member of the Order. Or sold to a pet store," he answered, "It was generally discouraged, though. The last person to really own a pet within the Order was Teidoll. He had to get rid of them when he became a General because he began spending so much time away from the Order. He had a pair of songbirds, though I can't recall what type they were."

"That sounds like it would have been lovely," Miranda smiled. She had never trusted herself to keep pets, but she loved to watch birds, "Song birds really are pretty, don't you think?"

Marie didn't answer right off, he was actually trying to remember what they looked like, but Miranda spoke again before he could answer.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! That was truly inconsiderate of me, I forgot! I'm so sorry, I wasn't trying to be rude," Miranda suddenly began babbling, every other word or so sounding like an apology.

"It's fine," Marie smiled. He knew it was easy for people to forget he was blind; he never acted like he was, anyways.

"No, I really do need to be more considerate with the things I say," Miranda sadly shook her head and denied his reassurance.

Marie, despite his calm nature, sighed in frustration, "Miranda, you did not offend me, I promise."

Miranda still seemed more than a little reluctant to believe him. They soon reached the music shop, and Miranda decided it was wise for her to wait outside. She could hardly walk through a library without knocking a shelf down, and unlike instruments, books weren't breakable.

Marie went in, asked if they could repair a piano, when they could repair it, and when he should have someone drop it off at the small shop. It didn't take him more than five minutes before he left the shop.

In those five minutes, unfortunately, Miranda hadn't faired too well. A carriage had drove through a rather large puddle beside the sidewalk and splashed her, and then someone had stolen her wallet right from her pocket.

"Are you alright, Miranda?" Marie could tell something was wrong with her as soon as he could hear hurt pulse and breathing.

"Oh, of course," Miranda lied. She could always earn more money by helping the Science Department clean some of their storage rooms.

"What happened?" Marie was unconvinced.

"I got pick-pocketed," Miranda sighed despairingly, "And my clothes are soaked."

Marie focused on all of the sounds around them, and heard someone talking,

"Yeah, she was so easy to rob. She didn't even try to chase me."

"Miranda, I think I found the person who stole your wallet," Marie said and began walking in the direction. He knew Miranda would follow.

Miranda followed in the wake he left in the crowd. Someone of Marie's height could easily create a path through even the most dense of crowds; Miranda gratefully kept up. Since she was someone of rather short height and stature getting through large crowds always troubled her, she always got pushed around and knocked down.

"Hey, it's the lady you got that wallet from," one of three teenage boys exclaimed to his two friends when he saw Miranda.

They took off, and Marie effortlessly picked up his own pace to follow them. Miranda, having far shorter legs, had to run quickly to keep up. She was gasping for breath by the time she skidded to a halt behind Marie.

"How did you not notice she had such a scary guy with her?" one of the three boys quietly hissed at the pick-pocket.

"He wasn't there when I took her wallet, I swear," the boy who had taken her walled answered back.

"Uhm, excuse me, but could you please return my wallet?" Miranda asked, barely looking around Marie to make sure it was the boy who had taken her wallet.

"Yeah, sorry for taking it. That was just a joke, right guys?" the boy quickly handed her wallet back and went back to cower behind his friends.

"Thank you," Miranda smiled.

"That lady was weird, but never, I mean never, steal from her again. I don't wanna make that guy mad," one of the boys with the pick-pocket said after Miranda and Marie had left.  
=

Miranda looked at the over-crowded cafeteria with unease. She hardly knew any of the other exorcists or finders and usually preferred to find a less crowded table and sit there, where she wouldn't be in anyone's way. Unfortunately for her, however, there were no empty tables. After ordering her food and getting her plate she scanned the room. She was relieved when she saw Marie sitting at a table. Thankfully, she noticed, there was an empty chair next to him.

"Excuse me, Marie, but is the seat to your right taken?" Miranda asked.

"No one is sitting there," Marie responded.

Miranda sat down and began to eat quietly.

"How have you been enjoying the Order?" Marie asked.

"It's very nice here. I'm glad I can finally be of at least a small use to people, or will be of some use eventually," Miranda smiled.

Hearing Miranda speak so negatively about herself made Marie sad, but he didn't show it. Voicing this would just make her think more negatively about herself.

"I'm glad you like it here. How long have you been here?" Marie knew she hadn't been there long but he wasn't exactly sure how long she had been there.

"Just over a month, I think," Miranda answered, "Not long enough to do anything, really."

"Oh, Marie, you're needed in Komui's office," one of the members of the Science Division said as he hurried by their table with a stack of papers.

"Alright," Marie called back.

Later on by another table the scientist told Daisya he was needed in Komui's office as well.

"You're probably going on a mission, right? Good luck, come back safe," Miranda said to Marie as he left.

"I'll see you when I come back," Marie smiled back.

Sadly, neither would see each other for a long time after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a bunch for the support on the first chapter~ After how little attention it's gotten on FFN, it's welcome to see people actually seem to like it. Comments, kudos, whatever, are appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man

Chapter 3

"Marie, hello, it's Miranda," Miranda said. She and Marie had gotten permission from Komui to talk over their golems, when they got the chance. Shortly after Marie had left on his mission with Daisya to meet up with Kanda Miranda had found herself almost afraid to even leave her room of the Order. It wasn't that she didn't trust the members of the Order, but she didn't know many people, and all of the people she knew were currently gone on missions. Since Marie and her had been getting along so well before he had to go she had asked Komui if it would be alright to talk over their golems.

"Hello, Miranda," Marie responded back.

"How's your mission going?" Miranda asked.

"It's been uneventful. We're still on our way to Barcelona and we haven't met up with Kanda yet. And how are you?" Marie responded before asking a question of his own.

"I'm doing fine. I still haven't gotten any missions of my own, yet," Miranda answered.

"I'm sure you'll have something to do soon," Marie said.

"You're going to get to see your old teacher again, right? Are you excited to see him?" Miranda asked. She always had trouble keeping conversations going, but she didn't want to stop talking to Marie because he had a familiar voice.

"Yes, I'm very glad. He's been away from the European Branch for at least a year, it will be good to talk to him again," Marie's voice sounded happy.

"That's good, I'm glad you're happy," Miranda couldn't help but smile. Marie always seemed so serious about everything; hearing him happy about something was a very seldom thing.

"I have to go now, Miranda," Marie said.

"Oh, right. Goodbye, I'll try to get in contact with you again soon," Miranda answered back.

Marie waited, patiently, for Miranda to answer her golem.

"Ya calling your girlfriend again?" Daisya teased.

"Be quiet," Marie answered simply. He had long since gotten over Daisya's childish teasing. The call stopped ringing as someone picked up.

"S-Sorry for taking so long to answer, Marie. How are you doing today?" Miranda answered; she was speaking quickly.

"It's fine, Miranda," Marie assured, as he usually did, before answering her question, "I'm doing very well today. What about you?"

"I'm doing wonderful," Miranda answered back cheerfully. It was odd, Marie had to admit, to hear her so happy, "How is your mission going?"

"It's going fine," Marie answered, "Daisya and I still haven't met up with Kanda yet, but we should be arriving near the meeting place the day after tomorrow."

"That's great," Miranda sounded like she was smiling, "I don't really have much time to talk today, though. I'm supposed to help a few of the finders move around some furniture in some of the unused rooms. I'll talk to you next time, though."

"Goodbye, be careful not to hurt yourself," Marie warned with a good-natured laugh.

"When are you gonna tell her you love her?" Daisya asked in a taunting voice.

Marie, from years of experience, ignored him.

"Marie?" Miranda said cautiously when someone had answered her call. She had heard about the incident in Barcelona, and she knew that Daisya and Marie had been quite close, so she wanted to make sure that Marie was doing alright.

"Hello, Miranda," Marie's voice lacked its usual emotion.

"H-How are you doing? I heard what happened, Marie, and I am so, so sorry," Miranda said quietly.

"I'm doing... alright," Marie answered, his voice sounded flat and broken, "How has it been back at headquarters?"

"Not much better, I'm afraid," Miranda responded glumly, "They're going to have a mass funeral tomorrow, for all of the finders and the exorcists that have been shipped back."

Marie was silent for a moment, "Please take care of yourself, Miranda."

"I will, Marie. Be careful, yourself. Please come back safe," Miranda responded.  
=

Marie leaned against the railing of the ship he, Kanda, and Teidoll were on. The vessel was headed to Japan so they could meet another group of exorcists in Edo. Almost all of the members of the ship's crew were uneasy about Marie, seeing as he was blind, being near the ship's railing, but Marie knew he wouldn't fall into the water as long as he was careful. Marie didn't know who all was alive or dead out of the exorcists he had last seen. He briefly wondered about Miranda. After that the incident in Barcelona there had been less opportunities to talk, and then Miranda stopped answering all together for some reason.

Marie had been grief-stricken at the thought of losing both Daisya, who had been like a brother, and Miranda, who he cared dearly for, in such a short period of time.

Someone leaned against the railing beside Marie, "Is everything alright?"

"I'm just thinking," Marie recognized the voice as General Teidoll's voice.

"About anything in particular?" Teidoll asked.

"About a friend," Marie answered.

Teidoll hummed thoughtfully in response, "Are they from the Order?"

"Yes, they're an exorcist," Marie nodded.

"You're worried about them, aren't you?" Teidoll asked. There was the light sound of pencil on paper and Marie could tell Teidoll was sketching the sea.

"Yes, we had been communicating regularly before..." Marie faltered when mentioning the city. Neither he, Kanda, nor Teidoll liked to think about what had happened. Luckily Teidoll seemed to understand, so Marie continued, "But we began to have less and less opportunities to speak. I don't even know if she's still alive."

"I'm not sure, Marie," Teidoll patted Marie's shoulder in a comforting manner, "I'm sure we'll know soon enough, though. So, tell me about this friend."

Marie had expected this to pop up eventually. Teidoll was always trying to get him and Kanda to be more social, and the fact that Marie had befriended someone probably seemed like a miracle to the General. "Her name is Miranda Lotto. We didn't really talk very much until she had gotten back from one of her first missions and had accidentally run into me in the halls. I thought she had been hurt at the time, because she had fallen asleep in the middle of the hallway, so I took her to the infirmary. After that she just seemed to gravitate towards me, you could say. She didn't know very many people in the Order. When I got called to go look for you with Daisya and Kanda, we started talking over our golems whenever we could spare a moment. I'm sure you've probably heard her reputation around the Order. She's very kind, but she's very panicky, and I don't think she even knows what self-confidence is."

"You're speaking fondly of her. Does Marie have a crush?" Teidoll teased.

Blood rushed to Marie's cheeks and caused him to blush a bright pink. Oddly enough, Marie didn't deny his master's teasing.

"She's very pretty. I talked to her once just before she made it back to the European Branch for the first time," Teidoll stated.

"What does she look like?" this wasn't the first time Marie had asked Teidoll, or Kanda, to describe someone or something for him.

"She has pale skin, very fair skin. Her eyes are slightly sunken, they're a very nice brown. Her hair is almost black, it has a bit of brown to it, and it reaches her shoulders. Her hair is also wavy. Lets see, her nose is rather small for her face. She has a very fragile build, she's skinny," Teidoll described. As he described her he did a quick sketch of her face to make sure the way he had described her fit.

Marie tried to picture her in his head, and he had a slight idea what she looked like, but he wished he could actually see her.

"I'm sure she's doing alright," Teidoll assured gently.

"You're probably right," Marie nodded.

Exhaustion dragged at Miranda's thoughts. She had to keep herself awake by any means necessary; that much was certain. She had tried so many things to stay awake and so far the only think that worked was talking to someone. Lenalee was still resting from her fight with the level three akuma, Miranda saw it was best to leave her alone. Lavi and Krory were also recovering their energy from the fight. This left Miranda to sit in the very noisy mess hall and sleeping quarters of the crew to stay awake. She would try desperately to start conversations with any of the crew members who could spare her the time.

The noise of everyone talking pounded against her eardrums and made her want to go back to her own quiet room, but then she would risk falling asleep. She couldn't or the ship would sink. Her thoughts began to wander in her sleep-deprived state to the feeling of guilt she felt for not being able to tell Marie she was being sent on a mission and wouldn't be able to contact him. She wondered how he was doing.

"Are you okay, Miss Exorcist?" one of the crew members asked as he sat down beside her.

"Yes, just a little tired," Miranda assured with as convincing a smile as she could muster.

A sudden look of realization dawned on the crew member's face, "You're the one who has to stay awake to keep the ship sailing, right?"

"Yes, I'm surprised you would even remember hearing about that," Miranda said.

"Yeah, we were all kinda thinking you were pretty amazing if you could stay awake for this long," he nodded.

Miranda managed a small chuckle, "Once I managed to stay up for ten days straight."

"Really? How?" the young man's eyes widened in either amazement or surprise.

"I couldn't sleep, I was too ashamed of myself for losing too many jobs," the atmosphere around Miranda seemed to grow heavy and cold as she gave a small, tired laugh.

"I'm sure you couldn't have lost that many jobs," he pointed out.

"I could, actually. I lost one hundred jobs before I discovered I was an accommodator," Miranda answered.

The conversation just seemed to die after this, and Miranda found it harder than ever to stay awake. Her thoughts wandered back to her fellow exorcists, and eventually Marie. No one had heard anything from his group since they got news that Daisya died in Barcelona.  
=

Miranda couldn't believe it. She focused on Time Record again, but she still couldn't find Kanda's time amongst those of the other exorcists in the Ark.

"Miranda? What's wrong?" Marie asked. He could hear the change in her breathing.

Miranda could hardly bring herself to say it. She knew how dear Kanda was to Marie, and she didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. Finally she managed to say, "Kanda's time disappeared."

Marie didn't say anything for a long time, but when next he spoke it was to relay the news to Teidoll.

About an hour had passed, and no one in the group said anything. Miranda had lost track of another person's time. Krory's.

She didn't want to have to tell the others, so she quietly stood and walked to the bridge they had previously been taking shelter under. It didn't take long for someone to notice her absence, though, and soon Marie had come over to where she was sitting.

"Someone else died," Miranda whispered.

"Do you know who?" Marie asked.

"Arystar Krory," Miranda answered, "I'm so useless, Marie. I couldn't help anyone on the ship, and now I can't help any of them."

"You're not useless, Miranda," Marie assured gently, "If it weren't for you, half of us who are here right now would be dead from our injuries. Because of you we can live until we get medical attention."

"But what about all of the people I couldn't save? That outnumbers anything else I've ever accomplished," Miranda had begun crying.

"Miranda, you don't have to save everyone. We all know the risks of our job," Marie said.

"B-But I should be able to save more people," Miranda whimpered. She began to cry even harder as another time disappeared from the record, then another. They were all dead, except Allen and Lenalee. Miranda's shoulders shook as she sobbed, and she was surprised when Marie hugged her.

"It's not your fault that your innocence can't completely heal people, Miranda. It's not your fault that the Noah are killing people," Marie whispered.

Miranda buried her face against his shoulder. The physical contact was calming, and soon she had managed to slow her crying to a few strangled, quiet sobs every few moments, "Won't everyone else hate me, for not being able to save the others?"

"No one expects you to be able to save everyone, Miranda. They won't be mad, they could never hate you," Marie assured.

"Marie, do you hate me for not being able to save Kanda?" Miranda asked uncertainly.

"Never," Marie answered, "I could never hate you."

I'm so happy, to hear that from him. But I'm such an awful person, being happy in a situation like this, Miranda thought as she pulled out of the hug. Suddenly her eyes widened as the lost times, Kanda's, Krory's, Chaoiji's, Lavi's, they all returned at once and she wanted to laugh with joy, "They're not dead. Marie, Kanda is alive."

Marie smiled, it was a truly grateful smile. He didn't think he could stand to lose Kanda, so soon after losing Daisya.

"I'm going to go tell the others," Miranda smiled. She wiped at the drying tears on her cheeks as she stood up and walked out from under the bridge.

Marie followed close behind her. His smile grew as he heard the others reactions to the news. And, before long an Ark gate opened. He was overjoyed to hear Kanda's voice.

"Don't touch me," Kanda glared at Teidoll, who was hugging him and blubbering about how glad he was that his son was safe and well.

Miranda watched the happy reunion of all of the others from a ways back. She didn't really know very many of them too well, and felt it was best to let them all enjoy themselves as the remaining finders and exorcists who had been outside of the Ark rushed to meet their recently revived comrades. She watched as Chaoiji and his friends, the only other survivors from the crew, hugged, welcomed, and talked. She laughed lightly at Kanda's reaction to being hugged by both Teidoll and Marie. Seeing all of the others happy made her happy too. And soon they were all going to the Asia Branch to borrow a phone. She stayed on the Ark to keep an eye on Krory, whose injuries were by far the worst.

She knew, once they returned to the European Branch, she would have to deactivate her innocence so the others could be treated for their wounds, but she was afraid to. She was afraid that, without her help, their injuries would kill them. Though she was a little happy she would be able to rest soon. She was exhausted, not just mentally but physically as well. Activating her innocence for such long periods of time usually left her muscles achy and her movements clumsy.

"We're going back now," Allen opened an Ark door into the 14th's Piano Room.

"Okay," Miranda nodded and stood up. She followed him out, and instead of ending up in another part of the Ark she was standing in the Order's European Branch. This surprised her greatly, and she couldn't help but gape at the sudden change in her surroundings. A few of the nurses under the command of the head nurse went to get Krory from the Piano Room. They returned a few moments later with him on a stretcher.

"Alright, Miranda, you can deactivate your innocence now," Marie coaxed.

Miranda suddenly felt more helpless than ever, "B-but you all's injuries will return."

"It's fine, we'll be able to get treatment for them now," Lavi assured.

"We'll all be fine, Miranda," Lenalee smiled.

Miranda blinked away her tears as she deactivated Time Record. Her thoughts were muddled by exhaustion after that, though, and she only remembered being led to one wing of the infirmary where they left her to sleep.  
=

Miranda walked beside Marie down one of the hallways. Technically, neither of them was supposed to be out of the infirmary, but they had both been rather restless and found getting away and walking through the quieter halls of the Order was a nice change to the crowded, bustling atmospheres of the infirmary. She timidly reached over and took Marie's hand.

This seemed to startled the blind man, but only momentarily, "How have you been doing, since we got back?"

"Wonderful. I don't even think I need to be in the infirmary anymore- I'm just taking up needed space and effort- but they still won't allow me to leave," Miranda answered, "I should be asking how you're doing. Are you injuries healing okay?"

"Yes, I wasn't hurt very badly. If anything, I'm just taking up space as well. It would be nice if I could go back to my room soon, if only to escape all of the noise in the infirmary," Marie answered.

"Is it very loud in the male wing of the infirmary?" Miranda asked in surprise. The small section of the infirmary divided for the female exorcists was usually very quiet and peaceful.

Marie's sigh answered the question, "I don't know what is the loudest, Krory's stomach or Allen and Kanda's arguing."

"If you told the head nurse it was too loud, I'm sure she'd probably let you go back to your own room," Miranda pointed out.

"Yes, probably, but she never stays in the infirmary long enough for me to ask. She's usually going to check on Lenalee," Marie responded.

"Oh, maybe I can bring it up next time she's around," Miranda smiled. She had shifted her position slightly so she was lightly hugging Marie's arm while she walked. She wasn't normally this affectionate, but she was still a little terrified from almost losing so many of her friends.

Marie smiled as he felt her hugging his arm, "Do you want to go to the cafeteria?"

"Okay," Miranda nodded.

They went to the cafeteria, ordered their food, waited for a few moments before Jerry called their orders, and then went to one of the empty tables. Recently the Order had been far emptier than normal.

"It's so quiet in here," Miranda stated sadly, "Most of the finders are dead, aren't they?"

"Yes," Marie answered, "Most of the finders have been killed, as have quite a few of the other exorcists in this branch and the others."

"Does this happen a lot, Marie?" Miranda asked.

"There are times where many of the exorcists and finders will be killed at nearly the same time, yes, but it isn't usually this extreme," Marie explained, "Sometimes, maybe, three or four exorcists and five or six finders will be killed on one mission. This is the worst I've ever seen it."

"This is the first time, I think, that I've been one of the only people in here," Miranda stated sadly as she rested her chin in her palm, her elbow was propped up on the table. Her and Marie were the only two people in the cafeteria aside from Jerry, but he seemed to be far too busy cooking to notice their conversation.

Marie, trying to cheer Miranda up, awkwardly wrapped his arm around her shoulders in a side-hug. He had never been very good at cheering people up, but he couldn't stand to hear Miranda sound so gloomy.

Miranda blushed and leaned into the hug so that she was leaning against Marie's side. "Thank you," she whispered.

Marie didn't know how to respond to the thanks, so he simply whispered back, "You're welcome."

Miranda smiled at the way Marie's side and chest rumbled when he spoke, "You're very kind, Marie." Shortly after stating these words she dozed off.

After Marie was sure Miranda was asleep and he wouldn't accidentally wake her up he picked her up and carried her back to the infirmary. As he was going back to the guys' wing of the infirmary, which was down two more hallways, he couldn't help but think that sneaking out had been worth it. Even if he was going to get into trouble with the Head Nurse for leaving without permission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading, I really appreciate all the support this story is getting. You all are great!


	4. Chapter 4

The library was quiet, and only a few candles, held or set near those in the room, lit the large room. Miranda and Marie, having snuck out of the infirmary again, were enjoying their temporary peace by sitting in the quiet library. Miranda read aloud, quietly, to Marie. Her back was leaned against his arm, her knees were positioned under her so her feet poked out from beneath her pointing to the left. She turned a page and continued her quiet reading.

No one else in the library seemed bothered by Miranda's aloud reading. There were only three or four other people in the library, and among them were Lavi and Bookman. A finder was sitting in another corner of the room, tucked comfortably into a corner between two shelves as he read.

Miranda turned to the next page and continued to read. After the first day they snuck out of the infirmary, Miranda and Marie had begun to sneak out more and more frequently. This was their third time to escape the infirmary that week. The other two times had been spent walking through the halls and talking. Miranda tried to stifle a yawn while reading, but couldn't keep herself from yawning widely. She wiped away the tears that had accumulated in her eyes from the yawn and continued reading.

"Do you want to go back to the infirmary?" Marie asked the next time Miranda paused to turn a page.

"Yes, that's probably wise. I'm beginning to dose off," Miranda laughed quietly as she marked their page in the book, "And the Head Nurse will probably notice we're gone soon."

"Do you want me to hold onto the book for you?" Marie offered.

"Yes, please. I don't want to lose one of the Order's books," Miranda nodded. She straightened her legs and took a second to let them wake up a little before she stood up. She gave the book to Marie once had had stood up from his seat on the floor, and then, once he had transferred the book to his other hand he took Miranda's hand.

"So, should we go get lunch tomorrow?" Miranda offered.

"We should probably wait a day or two before sneaking out again. The Head Nurse will probably notice if we leave too much," Marie pointed out, "Maybe the day after tomorrow."

"Alright," Miranda smiled. Soon they had reached the splitting halls that led, separately, to the two different wings of the infirmary, "I'll see you later, Marie. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Miranda. I'll see you the day after tomorrow?" Marie offered the idea.

"Yes, how about we head towards the cafeteria at half past noon," Miranda nodded.

"Okay," Marie nodded. He turned and walked down the hall.

When Miranda reached the door to the wing of the infirmary where girls were staying she opened the door carefully. She was trying not to make too much noise as she closed the door behind her and crept across the room, which was unsurprisingly dark, to her bed.

Lenalee stirred slightly in her own bed, across the room from Miranda's.

"Miranda?" Lenalee questioned, "Where were you?"

"I was in the library," Miranda answered.

"Oh, if you're going to leave you should really tell the Head Nurse," Lenalee said, "She might get worried if she comes in and no one knows where you are."

"Well," Miranda began, "I don't really think that she would let me leave, if I asked. She isn't really as lenient with most of us as she is with you."

"I guess you're right, but you really should sneak out," Lenalee shrugged as she rolled over to go back to sleep.

Once Miranda had lay down it didn't take more than ten minutes for her to fall asleep.

Marie did his best not to draw the attention of the other exorcists in that wing of the infirmary. He and Miranda had agreed to sneak out for lunch, and he didn't want to have to come up with any cover stories for why he was leaving. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice as he left.

Halfway to the cafeteria he heard a familiar voice, "Marie, please slow down." Miranda scrambled to catch up to him down the hallway, "S-Sorry, I just thought it would be nice to walk to the cafeteria together."

"Of course it would be," Marie smiled.

"Maybe, after lunch, we can go to the library again," Miranda offered with a small smile, "It was nice when we went the other day."

"That sounds good," Marie nodded. Miranda had sounded like she was smiling, Marie wished he could see her smile. He wondered if her smile was as nice as it made her voice sound.

Soon they had reached the cafeteria. After they had gotten their food and sat down they fell into a comfortable silence as they ate.

Miranda giggled softly, suddenly.

"What?" Marie asked.

"It's just, I think is the most normal my life has been since my clock began resetting the time in my home town," Miranda continued to laugh softly, "It was just funny to think about, I guess. This does seem normal, right?"

"It is a rather normal thing, getting lunch with a friend," Marie nodded and smiled.

"It's nice. I never really had anyone to spend time with before I came here. I like spending time with you," Miranda smiled too.

"Before I joined the Order I was always around other people. It actually got very tiring, after awhile, going somewhere every other day and staying out late. After I joined the Order I had to cut my connections with all of my friends and acquaintances, though," Marie said, "But I tried to avoid getting very close to any of the other exorcists or finders. It's nice to have someone be around, again."

"Didn't you spend time with Kanda and Daisya and Teidoll after you three became Teidoll's students?" Miranda asked.

"Yes, but before you were brought to the Order I had been seeing less and less of them. For a year, about, I hadn't talked to Daisya or Teidoll," Marie answered.

"Is living at the Order lonely, usually?" Miranda asked thoughtfully.

"Sometimes. Sometimes you'll have friends, and others you won't. Sometimes you'll go months without having a regular conversation with someone, and sometimes you'll have one everyday for months," Marie explained, "It really just depends on the situation, but it seems like you've had good company since you arrived."

"Really? It can be that different?" Miranda asked.

"Yes," Marie nodded.

The rest of their meal was spent in another comfortable silence, and after they had finished their food they put their dishes on the dirty dishes table and went to the library.

"What do you want me to read?" Miranda asked as she looked at one of the shelves full of books.

"Are there any books you want to read?" Marie asked.

"A few, yes," Miranda nodded.

"Choose one of those," Marie suggested.

"Are you sure? Because if there's anything you want me to read to you I wouldn't mind," Miranda said.

"I know, Miranda. But pick a book you want to read," Marie said.

"Okay," Miranda looked at the books on the shelf again before she picked one. Soon her and Marie were sitting as they had been a few days before when they were in the library. Miranda leaned with her back against Marie's arm with her legs tucked under her.

Miranda read in a slightly louder voice than the last time, seeing as they were the only two people in the library, and she wouldn't be bothering anyone else.

And, before either knew it, two hours had passed.

The door to the library banged open, loudly squealing on its hinges.

"There you two are!" it was one of the nurses who worked under the Head Nurse, "We've been looking all over for you! Come on, both of you."

Miranda, at that moment, seemed as if she wished she could be anywhere but there. She followed quietly behind Marie as he followed the nurse back to the infirmary.

"You two have caused us so much trouble!" the nurse scolded, "You should have asked to leave, instead of making us look for the both of you!"

Neither Miranda nor Marie got off without a long, long lecture, but by the end of that day the Head Nurse decided they were both well enough to return to their own rooms.

Marie was more that a little happy to have some peace and quiet that night, as opposed to the endless bickering and noise from the infirmary wing. The endless headache that had plagued him since he had been forced to share a room with Allen, Kanda, and the others had finally left, leaving him to sleep peacefully that night. The next day, like the many days before it after the fight in the Ark, was uneventful. He went to the library with Miranda, they ate lunch, he went and talked to Kanda.

As Marie was going back to his room he heard someone running down the hallway quite a ways behind him.

"S-Sorry," Miranda apologized as she caught up to him, "I just wanted to say hi."

"You shouldn't apologize for nothing," Marie chuckled, "Well, hello to you too. How have you been doing since lunch?"

"I've been doing good," Miranda smiled, "How has your afternoon been?"

"It's been very good. I went and talked to Kanda, it was nice to talk to him even though all he did was complain about still being stuck in the infirmary," Marie answered.

"The Head Nurse is really cautious, isn't she?" Miranda laughed slightly, "Most of the others' injuries have already healed, but she still won't let them leave."

"It is her responsibility to make sure we're all healthy, I can't really blame her. Most of the other exorcists are so young that they really do need to be more cautious about their health," Marie pointed out.

"I guess you're right. It's really hard to think about how most of the others really are so young. They never act like it," Miranda's voice grew slightly sad at the end of this statement.

Marie frowned slightly at the change of tone in Miranda's voice, but then he got an idea, "Miranda, come with me."

"Where?" Miranda asked as she followed him.

"Once, before my eyes were injured, I found an old garden just outside of the Order. It was never really kept well, but most of the plants were allowed to grow wherever they pleased. I think, it it's still anywhere near the same, you'll like it," Marie smiled.

"Oh, really?" Miranda was surprised by the sudden topic change, but she wasn't going to argue. She even reached out and lightly held Marie's hand. It didn't take long before they had left the Order's building all together.

The path that Marie led her down was overgrown, and it looked like no one had gone that way for a very long time. Miranda had to watch her step to avoid tripping over tree roots that were growing out and over the path, but soon the trees thinned slightly and she could see a cracked, stone fountain. Around the fountain was a marble bed, meant for the water of the fountain to run over into. Different flower plants, vines, and weeds grew wildly, unkept and were left to grow wherever they wanted. There was a marble bench, in the middle of the garden. Rose bushes scaled trellises that were arranged around the garden. Miranda couldn't help but quietly gasp at the sight of the garden. Light filtered between the twining branched above and dappled the ground, giving the entire garden an otherworldly feeling, "This place is beautiful, Marie."

"I'm glad it still is," Marie smiled. Though he couldn't see it he could still imagine how it had been the time before when he had seen it.

"It's so peaceful here," Miranda whispered, as if speaking at a normal volume would disrupt the tranquillity.

A bird hopped between branches overhead, causing the leaves to rustle.

"Thank you so much for bringing me here, Marie," Miranda smiled. There were happy tears in her eyes as she lightly hugged Marie. It was an awkward hug, Miranda's arms couldn't even wrap all the way around Marie's chest.

Marie simply smiled in response and returned the hug.

"Maybe sometime we can come here and I can read to you," Miranda offered.

"That would be nice," Marie agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for not posting for so long! I tend to forget about things very easily! Especially since everything from this website goes to a folder in my email I don't check >


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Miranda trailed off in the middle of reading a sentence of a book aloud. A bright red cardinal was fluttering between the branches above her and Marie, and she couldn't help but be distracted by the pretty bird.

"Is everything okay, Miranda?" Marie asked; he couldn't help but worry about her sometimes.

"Yes, sorry. I just got a little distracted by a bird," Miranda chuckled as she resumed reading. It was early evening and they were sitting in the old little garden. A slight wind occasionally rustled the trees around them and provided a slight chill. Miranda occasionally paused in her reading to look up when she heard something move in the trees or plants. She loved to watch the birds hop between branches, and there had even been a few squirrels scavenging around in the bushes for food. And then, before Marie could worry about the silence, she would begin reading again. This pleasant moment was only interrupted when Miranda's stomach growled quietly, but loudly enough for Marie to hear.

"Are you hungry?" Marie asked. He was smiling.

"Yes, a little," Miranda nodded.

"Why don't we go back and eat. It's getting cold out here anyway," Marie smiled, "It would be bad if you caught a cold."

Miranda blushed slightly. It always flustered her when Marie worried about her like that, or went out of his way to help her, "It would be bad if you caught a cold, too. We probably should go back."

Their walk back to the Order's tower was pleasantly quiet. The silence was only interrupted occasionally by Miranda's quiet, off-key humming.

"I bet your singing voice is very beautiful," Marie smiled.

Miranda blushed again, only this time her cheeks were bright red, "T-Thank you. I-It really isn't though."

"You should think better of yourself, you're an amazing person," Marie stated, as if he were pointing out the obvious. He was smiling kindly at her.

Miranda could simply stutter and stammer incoherently until they had reached the cafeteria. They ordered their food and sat down at one of the empty tables. The cafeteria wasn't as empty; more finders had been recruited and many of the injured exorcists had been released from the infirmary. The room still wasn't as bustling and crowded as it had been before the ark, but it wasn't as depressing to be in anymore.

"Marie, about what you said earlier, please don't think I'm amazing. I don't think I can live up to your expectations. I'm too clumsy, and apologetic, and..." Miranda trailed off, unsure of how to put the rest of her negative qualities into words, "I'm too much of a burden."

Marie hugged her, "Miranda, you are amazing. You're kind and compassionate. You are never a burden, you are always so eager to help people. Yes, you could do to apologize a little less, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. I won't argue that you're a bit clumsy, sometimes, but it's not something you can help." Marie rarely showed affection physically, he almost never hugged people except for the few occasions he had tried to cheer Miranda up or the times he was welcoming a friend home. These rare signs of affection showed how much he truly cared for Miranda, and she could sense that.

"Thank you," Miranda smiled slightly and returned the hug. She was never sure how to accept compliments, and so today she would simply say thank you and show Marie she appreciated it.

From somewhere across the room a finder "aww"ed before calling, "Look at the love birds."

This left Miranda red in the face and practically wishing she could disappear from the room as she returned to eating her dinner.

Marie suffered a similar reaction, and was almost happy when he had finished his food. However, he decided to wait for Miranda to finish so he could walk her to her room.

Miranda, seeing that Marie was waiting for her to finish, hurriedly ate the rest of her food.

"I'm so, so sorry that that happened," Miranda apologized. If she hadn't been so mopey Marie wouldn't have hugged her and neither of them would have been embarrassed like that.

"It wasn't your fault, Miranda," Marie assured.

Miranda decided not to push the topic, and the rest of the walk to her room was silent.

"Goodnight, Marie," Miranda smiled when they reached her door, "Thank you very much for spending time with me today."

"I was glad to. Sleep well, I hope to see you tomorrow," Marie said.

Miranda and Marie were eating lunch together, as usual.

Marie had been laughing lightly at something Miranda had said when both of their golems received incoming emergency alerts.

"All able bodied exorcists are to report to the science department. Akuma have infiltrated the building, help is requested. Noise Marie, Miranda Lotto, and all Generals are needed," the message was repeated several times.

The entire cafeteria went silent at the sound of the alerts as Miranda and Marie quickly hurried to the science department. When they arrived Lavi waved them over to a side entrance, the main entrance was completely blocked.

"Miranda, we need ya ta reverse the time around the akuma egg. It's been pulled inta the ark," Lavi instructed, "Do ya need ta get closer?"

"Yes, I don't think I can control it from here," Miranda nodded.

With little to no warning Marie Picked Miranda up and placed her on his shoulder before activating Noel Organon and using the strings to keep them a safe distance from the ground and fighting.

Miranda yelped in surprise when her feet were lifted off of the ground but she quickly gained her balance once Marie had set her down. It was good she had gained her balance too, because they were soon swinging quickly past the fighting until she was in close enough range to reverse the time around the ark gate and the akuma egg. Once the akuma egg was above the ark gate so that the platform around it was clear of the gate Marie let Noel Organon set them down on the platform, he knelt down so that Miranda could easily climb off his shoulder, and then they stood there to wait the fighting out.

After all of the akuma were destroyed Marie contacted the command center to report. Marie explained the situation, and passed along the commands and information that the others shouted in turn.

"Guard Miranda, make sure she can keep Time Record activated," Komui commanded.

"I will keep her safe," Marie assured. The conversation was turned to Cross's headset.

Marie looked up, startled; there was water moving all around them. He realized what was happening a moment too late as Miranda made a small, startled sound that was cut off by the gurgling of water rushing into her mouth. Marie lunged forward to catch her before she could be swept up by the water, he didn't know what was controlling it, but he missed and only managed to disturb a small portion of the water. He reactivated Noel Organon and sent out the strings to try and bind the water around Miranda.

"Noel Organon can't bind it," Marie was more than a little frustrated that he was helpless to help Miranda. He could hear Cross explaining something about the Noah of Form, but he heard the Noah's demand louder than the explanation. He knew Miranda would never deactivate her innocence if it meant that the enemy would benefit, even if it cost her her life to keep it activated.

Miranda desperately struggled as her lungs burned. She couldn't breathe and she was running out of air. If she didn't get any air soon she was going to pass out and Time Record was going to deactivate whether she wanted it to or not.

Whether he liked it or not, Marie had to devote his attention to keeping the akuma egg from being stolen instead of trying to free Miranda. He directed Noel Organon at the egg, but not even his innocence was strong enough to stop the egg's downward descent into the ark gate.

"Destroying the egg takes priority. She's an exorcist, she should be ready to lay down her life," General Socalo said.

"Yes, destroying the egg takes priority," General Cross agreed.

Marie couldn't believe what he was hearing. He didn't want to believe it, "Stop!"

The Generals prepared their attacks, and Marie only grew angrier as he could tell the Noah was using Miranda as a direct shield for the egg. Marie would have done anything at that moment to save Miranda. He would have even, if possible, switched places with her. He couldn't stand the thought of losing her. He couldn't lose her, the thought repeated in his head again and again.

Marie could only pick up white noise around the egg, after it had entered the ark, but a moment later he could hear Miranda's familiar pulse, if a bit sluggish. He also heard Allen mutter, under his breathe, the word "despicable". Allen, carrying Miranda, walked over to where Marie, Bookman, and the Generals were.

Marie took Miranda from him, and was more than relieved to hear that she was breathing properly. Miranda's head lolled against Marie's chest as he shifted the way he was holding her. He was silently thanking whatever God existed in the world, he had long since stopped believing in any type of God or deity figures, that Miranda was alive when he heard an all too familiar sound. The sound of an akuma, but this sound was different. It was mixed with a childish laugh that sent chills down Marie's spine.

Sounds of fighting echoed around, and Marie couldn't exactly tell what was going. After about five minutes of this, there was a sudden sound that made his ears ring. The sound pressed in on his hears, and he had to take off his headphones in a desperate attempt to muffle the shriek. His eardrums felt like they were going to bust and he wanted to scream in pain from the horrible sound. The sound continued to ring in his ears, he couldn't tell if it had stopped or not, but he was aware of the ground around him falling away. After that he fell unconscious.

Miranda's eyes shot open as she groggily registered that there was still fighting going on around her. She opened her eyes, and saw that she, along with many of the members of the science division and a few other exorcists, were a few floors from where she remembered being before she passed out. She looked up and saw a rather large chunk of concrete hanging unstably from a steel cable. This was a good time to activate Time Record, she decided. Her body and mind were already drained from her previous ordeal, but she somehow managed to keep herself awake enough to keep Time Record activated.

Reever had woken up, and after asking is she was okay and receiving a half-coherent answer, he called Komui to see what was going on in the rest of the Head Quarters.

Miranda was hardly aware of anything after that. She was aware of everyone moving just a bit closer to her so that she didn't have to use up as much power to keep Time Record activated over a larger area.

She wasn't truly aware of anything until she felt a warm hand envelope one of her hands and heard a gentle voice saying, "Miranda, you can release it now. You've done great. It's okay, we'll all be fine." She could feel another warm hand against her side, opposite of that hand.

"The fire has gone, Miranda. You can deactivate Time Record now," Marie coaxed, but Miranda could hardly register she was being spoken to.

Finally Miranda deactivated Time Record and she slumped in exhaustion again Marie's chest.

"You did well, Miranda. Rest now," Marie assured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, it means a lot!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so, so much for putting the time forward to read this. I wrote and posted this chapter on FFN in around January this year, so I promise the writing will improve as time goes on. This is my first story on AO3, and I'd really, really appreciate some support on it.


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